


Back in Waystation

by winryofresembool



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Fix It Fic, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Post ToA, TOA spoilers, post ToN, the ending we caleo shippers deserve, tower of nero spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27250765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winryofresembool/pseuds/winryofresembool
Summary: Calypso returns from the band camp and she and Leo finally sort some things out (Post ToN).
Relationships: Calypso/Leo Valdez
Comments: 11
Kudos: 36





	Back in Waystation

**Author's Note:**

> Woop, here it finally is! The 'fix it' fic I promised. Like I said in one of the author's notes of TWLitF, I feel like Rick did these two very dirty in ToA, especially in the end when he left things so open ended. It would have been better for both characters if he had made them, you know, deal with their issues. I know this fic ended up being very sappy but it was something I myself would have liked to read so... I hope you guys enjoy it too.
> 
> Also, since this fic has taken a lot of my writing time for the past 2ish weeks, I'm not going to post a new chapter for TWLitF tomorrow. But worry not because I am hoping to post normally again next Thursday! Stay tuned! 
> 
> Don't forget to let me know what you think of this fic!

It was already late August. The weather had started getting slightly cooler in Indianapolis and people were getting prepared to go back to work and school after the summer vacation. Even Leo was preparing for the start of the new high school year; he had finished his community service teaching the homeless kids shop skills a week before and gone to buy some supplies for the school year. Now all that was left to do was waiting.

If the young demigod was totally honest to himself, he was getting a bit antsy. His girlfriend had been gone for pretty much the whole summer, counseling at a band camp and not telling him when exactly she would be back. If ever. Leo was worried that she’d meet someone way cooler than him at the camp and just leave some message that he shouldn’t be expecting her to return.

Before she had left, things had been complicated between them; they had been arguing quite a lot and Leo hadn’t exactly been his usual self after returning from his trip to California. He had found out about the death of his best friend Jason and accompanied the heartbroken Piper to her new home before flying back to Waystation where the information about Jason had fully sunk in. Unlike Leo himself, Jason would never be back.

Calypso had never known the son of Jupiter and she didn’t know how strongly his death had affected those who had known him. That’s why Leo felt like he couldn’t show his mourning to her and for a few weeks after his return he had been pretty withdrawn. Instead of going back to school with Calypso he had been tinkering in Jo’s workshop until Jo had dragged him out of there and forced him to take care of himself, to eat, to shower and so on. She had also been the one to suggest the community service for Leo, and after considering it he had finally decided it could be a good idea. Having something to do that forced Leo to leave the house had a positive impact on him and even though he still missed Jason, he also knew that Jason would be mad if he didn’t try to move forward, so he did. That led to Leo’s current issue, Calypso. He wished he would have had an opportunity to talk with her properly before she had left….

Loud clanking pulled Leo back from his thoughts. He was in the workshop again, this time with Jo and Georgie, trying to fix a part of Festus’ wing that had broken when one of Leo’s homeless pupils had accidentally thrown something at it, not knowing Festus was there. Jo was instructing Georgie with something that looked way too dangerous in the hands of a 7-year-old but Leo knew from experience that since she was a demigod (suspected to be Apollo’s daughter), she would have to learn to fight sooner rather than later. Waystation may have been a safe haven for demigods but Georgina wouldn’t be able to hide from the monsters forever.

Leo was going to ask Jo’s opinion on how to make the wing part more durable when the workshop door opened. Expecting it to be just Emmie who would tell them the dinner was ready, he didn’t even turn to look at the newcomer. But soon he felt weird tingling on his skin that had absolutely nothing to do with Emmie as he smelled the very familiar cinnamon scent and realized that the steps were lighter than the older woman’s.

“Hi,” he heard a soft voice say and he finally turned around to see his girlfriend standing right behind him. She was smiling at him, although slightly awkwardly, probably as unsure about their situation as he was. A hundred different emotions rushed through Leo as he took her in; happiness, nervousness, uncertainty… and how had he forgotten she was so damn pretty? When he didn’t say anything for a moment, she tilted her head slightly, looking at him expectantly. Finally the gears started moving again in Leo’s head and he spread his arms, leaping into a hug.

“You late, Sunshine,” he mumbled against her shoulder as he tightened his arms around her. Calypso recognized the reference to what she herself had said back on Ogygia and couldn’t stop her smile from widening a bit as she responded to Leo’s hug. He probably would have kissed her on the mouth too but Jo and Georgina’s presence made Leo a bit self conscious about showing affection and he ended up kissing her cheek instead. “Missed ya,” he whispered after that.

Eventually the couple pulled away from the hug. Calypso greeted the other two people in the room and turned her attention back to Leo again.

“So, I’m Sunshine now again? No more Mamacita?” Her tone was suspicious but Leo could tell that she was actually happy about the change.

“Yeah,” Leo shrugged. “Reyna had quite a talk with me about how ladies should be addressed and apparently Mamacita isn’t an appropriate way to do that,” he said sheepishly.

Calypso cocked her eyebrow a bit at that piece of information. Even though she hadn’t met Reyna personally because she had left for her band camp before Reyna and the other hunters of Artemis had visited Waystation, she did remember hearing the name before. “Reyna? Isn’t she that girl who you saw in that vision back on Ogygia? The one with dark hair and…”

“Yes, that’s her,” Leo said cautiously. “She’s a Hunter now so she and her group visit here pretty often.” Before Calypso had time to say anything to that, he added: “She’s acting like a sister figure towards me and she’s scolded me a lot for… well, a lot of things.” He decided to not reveal that a lot of their talks had revolved around Calypso.

Calypso’s expression softened at his comment. “I’m glad someone has been keeping you in check while I was gone. Maybe I should let her do that more often.”

Worry flashed briefly in Leo’s eyes because he thought she was implying that she would be leaving Waystation so she decided to calm him down. “Relax, Repair Boy. I didn’t mean it that way. I wanted to stay here with you and that hasn’t changed. Besides, high school is pretty great, you know? I want to get through that. But, um… I’ve been thinking. About what was going on between us before I left.” 

“Oh? Yeah, me too,” Leo replied, combing his messy hair with his hand.

Suddenly they remembered that there were two extra pairs of ears in the room listening to them, ending the conversation there.

“Ahem,” Jo cleared her throat, understanding the situation all too well. “Leo, how about you take Calypso’s bag into her room? I can see the wing meanwhile. I promise Festus will be better than new soon.”  
“Sure, I can do that, mom,” Leo said with slight reservation in his voice.

Calypso gave Jo a thankful look, exchanging a couple of words with her and Georgina before pulling Leo out of the workshop.

The two occupied the room Calypso used to sleep in before the band camp. Leo didn’t hang out there that often, but he was reminded of one particular time earlier that spring when he had been there. That night Calypso had had some nightmares and she had found out Leo was awake as well. They had stayed up talking for a long while in Calypso’s room until falling asleep next to each other. Even though they had been fully clothed when Emmie had come to wake Calypso up for some morning gardening (Leo felt like bursting into flames even at the thought of having done something that involved taking their clothes off. It wasn’t that he had never thought of it - he was a 17-year-old boy who was very much in love with his girlfriend after all - but he didn’t think they were quite there yet. And he highly doubted that Calypso would appreciate him even requesting that), the mother hens of Waystation had still pulled them apart and had some very embarrassing talks with them. Comparing it to the time when Percy and Annabeth had fallen asleep at the stables of Argo II, Leo felt like those two had gotten off easy.

“So… How was the camp?” Leo started awkwardly after setting Calypso’s bag down in her room, snapping out of his memories.

“It was good,” Calypso said simply, sitting down on her couch, Leo following her. “I am impressed by how talented these kids with no special powers can be.”

“Don’t underestimate the regular mortals,” Leo noted. “In my homeless kid group there were a few that were really good at the shop skills even though I’m pretty certain they couldn’t see Festus.”

“What do you mean with that?” Calypso asked. Before she had left for her camp, she had heard about Leo’s plans for the community service, but what she didn’t know was that Leo had used Festus as the place to teach the kids. Leo explained the situation to her.

“But isn’t that kind of risky?” she wanted to know then. “I mean, I know he’s your friend, and all, but what if he had accidentally started blowing fire at them or something?”

“C’mon, of course I had safety precautions for that,” Leo protested. “I may be an idiot but I do know my way around mechanical dragons.”

“Right. Of course.” Calypso said. Before their break she might have started a debate about Leo’s safety precautions but given the circumstances she decided that it would be better to not question it. A silence fell between the two as both wondered how to approach the topics they really wanted to talk about.

“So how have you been doing, really?” they asked almost simultaneously.

“Um, you go first,” Leo said, attempting to be polite.

“Like I said, I did enjoy the camp,” Calypso answered, getting a dreamy look on her face. “It’s… still so fascinating to me to see how the regular mortals – I guess I’m one of them now – live, having no idea what’s going on behind their backs… And I learned a lot of things about modern music that Apollo didn’t teach me. I know how to play the guitar now! But…” she hesitated a bit. “What about you?”

Leo got a strong feeling that she was actually going to say something else after that ‘but’. Her face told him that she was debating in her mind about something. Maybe she was even going to say she had missed him? But instead of asking about that, he answered Calypso's question.

“Decent, I guess, all things considered… Who would have thought that I enjoy teaching? But I guess it helped me that I could relate to those kids’ situations… and it’s kept me distracted from what happened with Jason…” He was looking down at his hands, hoping it would manage to keep him calm enough.

“Yeah…” Calypso seemed to be thinking about something for a while. Eventually she asked: “Hey, would you like to tell me more about him? I mean, what was he like?”

Leo was surprised by the request but he did what he was told to do.

“Jason… He always put the others’ happiness before his own. On the day we met, Piper was about to fall in a canyon but he jumped after her without knowing that he could fly. Crazy, I know, but that’s the kind of guy he was” He noticed that even though it hurt, he was now able to smile at the memory. 

“I don’t remember if I’ve told this to you but Hera had messed with his memory; he didn’t remember almost anything about his past, but I think he took it all like a boss. If I had been in his boots I would have probably punched her in the face. Jason also accepted me as his friend even though…” Leo’s lip started trembling but he bit it and managed to continue: “Even though I had never had real friends before Piper and Jason and didn’t really know how to act around other people. That’s why the jokes. He was probably everything I wished I was - strong, smart, etc. - but never made a big deal out of it. He was so humble. After what happened with Dirt Face he probably thought he’d get to live a normal life and be a regular high school student, but...

“The Triumvirate…” Calypso said for him, having heard that part of the story before.

“Yeah,” Leo nodded sadly. “From what I’ve heard, Jason knew he would have to die in order to let Piper and the others survive and Apollo to succeed in his mission. He wasn’t like me, though. I hadn’t really accepted death when I decided to sacrifice myself against Potty Sludge so I used the Physician’s Cure. Jason, though… he had accepted his fate and he died knowing that Apollo would make things right. I’ve heard from Apollo that his last wishes were that no minor god would be forgotten again, and that Apollo would remember what it was like to be a human even after he becomes a god again. And to me it seems Apollo is holding to that promise. I know things won’t probably ever be perfect for us, but… if even one god is on our side… I feel like some things might improve at least for the next generation of demigods and… Jason didn’t die in vain.” He sighed, fiddling with his hands like always when he was dealing with difficult topics.

“So you think that Jason was the reason why Apollo was able to change?” Calypso asked.

“No, probably not the only reason, but… a reason nevertheless.” Leo said absentmindedly.

“Jason and you were willing to die for your cases. Sometimes I wonder… if giving up my immortality was the right choice, but hearing these stories makes me feel more peace with it. Life is short when you are a mortal and that’s why we should live it the fullest every day… and that’s why…” Calypso leaned towards Leo until their lips touched. It was a short and gentle kiss but it made Leo flustered and worried he might accidentally burn something.

“W-what was that for?” he stuttered when they broke apart.

“Stupid. You thought I found some hot clarinet guys from the camp and forgot about you?”

“You still… love me?” Leo asked in return. Even though he technically knew it (how else would he have gotten out of Ogygia in the first place?), it wasn’t something Calypso said aloud often and especially after the events of the past couple of months Leo had had a lot of doubt in his mind. Hearing it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he felt a smile spread on his face automatically.

“We may argue sometimes and you may be kind of insufferable when you’re in that mood but after taking some time to think I recognize that I am at fault too for the issues we’ve had and I am willing to admit that. Sometimes I’ve blamed you for things that were not your fault and I’m sorry about that. Besides, I see that you have learned a thing or two while I was gone. Not calling me Mamacita is a good start. So, yes, Leo Valdez. Se filo.

Even though Leo hadn’t spent a lot of time learning Ancient Greek at Camp Half-Blood, he still knew what Calypso’s line meant. His heart suddenly feeling full, he had to admit that the line felt more powerful when said in your first language. But there was a language even more near and dear to him than Spanish; one that his mother had taught him when he had been very young, one that he had repeated countless and countless times when missing her. During their flight from Ogygia back to the States he had taught a certain rhythm to Calypso so she knew the meaning too. When he started tapping against the back of her hand, a small sniffle came out of Calypso’s mouth.

“You haven’t done that in a long while,” she said quietly, her voice slightly cracked. “Gods, I feel I’ve been pretty selfish lately… All this time I have been thinking about my own struggles and have forgotten you have your own… yet your feelings towards me haven’t changed… You know, Apollo was right to get mad at me that one time.”

“What?” Leo asked, not understanding what Calypso was talking about.

“When we were on our way to that zoo…” she referred to the time when they had just arrived at Waystation. “Oh, never mind. What matters is that I see more clearly now. I’m not sure if I’m much better than those men who left me in Ogygia.”

“Of course you are!” Leo exclaimed. “You were stuck there for thousands of years! I… can’t even imagine… being forced to fall in love that many times and having to watch all of them go… I would have gone nuts. Thinking about it, I find it crazy that you didn’t just throw me out of your island. You deserved something better.”

“Leo…” Calypso said, turning his face towards her gently. “I think the fact that you weren’t exactly the type of hero that I was hoping for back then was the reason why things ended up going differently with you. I did not fall for you because of the curse. I fell for you despite that. And… after spending so much time together without having any time off from each other, I… started taking things for granted and forgot to be grateful. I owe you a lot. But I want to make it clear that that’s not why I want to be with you. I want to be with you for you. Sarcasm and bad puns included. And that’s what I remembered while I was gone.”

“Hey, Cal…” Leo removed Calypso’s hand from his jaw and took it into his. “I think we’ve both been faulty for these issues. The others here have made me realize that I haven’t exactly been the best boyfriend material either. I don’t talk about my issues. I make jokes at moments when I shouldn’t and probably make you think I don’t take our relationship seriously. Like that one time when I compared it to machines. I… I think I can see now why that annoyed you but that’s just how I roll. A machine geek and a clown. Those will probably always be a part of who I am so I’m not gonna promise that I’m just gonna magically change. But what I can promise is that I will try to make you see that I do take this seriously. Because I do.”

Calypso gave him a small, genuine smile and squeezed Leo’s hand slightly.

“I believe you. And… maybe we’re just one of those couples who enjoy bickering. What’s a life without challenge?”

Leo chuckled at that. “Wouldn’t have said it better myself, Sunshine.”

“I haven’t given my permission for the nickname ‘Sunshine’…” Calypso gave Leo a pointed look, which however quickly melted into a mischievous smile. “But we’ll see about that. More seriously speaking, though… I should try to keep my temper in check more as well. That doesn’t mean that I won’t call you out, though, when you deserve it.” She nudged him playfully.

“That’s fair enough,” Leo admitted too, giving her a lopsided smile.

“Yeah… Listen,” Calypso said suddenly. “In case you still doubt my commitment… I have something to show you.”

She went to her desk and took some papers out of the drawer.

“Here. Something I found on Ogygia after you left. Thought you might want to see it again.”

Leo took a closer look at the drawings and his mouth opened in surprise.

“You… these…” he said, dumbfounded.

“I just made Leo Valdez quiet? Miracles do happen.” Calypso teased but then turned her focus on the papers as well. It was a blueprint of a garage building Leo had drawn while stuck on Ogygia with Calypso. Besides Leo’s own workshop, there was a space for Calypso to do her work as well. For something that had been sketched in only a few hours, it seemed that he had still put a lot of thought into it. Even Annabeth Chase would have been proud of it.

“I… I wasn’t expecting to see these anymore,” Leo said with a hoarse voice, his eyes gleaming in the dim light of the room.

“But it was something you dreamed about, right?” Calypso asked, worried she had done something wrong.

“Yeah… still do.” Leo nodded, the papers shaking in his hands. “I didn’t think you’d remember…”

“I remember a lot more than you think I do,” Calypso said. “I used to be a titaness, remember? But… when I saw it I knew it was important to you and I kept it because it was my way to hold onto the hope that…” She swallowed. “That you would come back to me.”

Leo leaned in to give Calypso a kiss on her forehead. “And I did. Hey, wanna hear a secret? I took something from Ogygia to guide me back there. I think I still have it…”

He started fiddling with his toolbelt for a while before he found what he was looking for. It was a tiny piece of crystal from Calypso’s old cave.

“It was thanks to this that I got the astrolabe to work and managed to find back… You can have it.”

“But I…”

“It has done its job. It brought me to you. So, who is more suitable to carry it?”

“Thank you.” Calypso looked at the crystal with teary eyes. “It… may have been my prison but it was also a home… This… means a lot to me.”

“I hope it’ll remind you of the good things you experienced there. Not the bad," Leo said quietly.

“Yeah. Don’t worry, it… it will.”

“Good.”

Calypso leaned against Leo’s chest to calm herself down, getting his shirt wet but he didn’t complain. She didn’t move from there for a long time, and Leo was starting to get a bit worried before she finally lifted her head and swiped her nose on a tissue Leo dug for her from his toolbelt. Then she looked at him with her puffy eyes, somehow still looking good in Leo’s opinion.

“I don’t know what just happened there…” She mumbled. “I guess… this whole past year… or more… has been a lot. Yet I haven’t been able to cry even once… Somehow it just all flooded out of me now.”  
“’s OK.” Leo said, stroking Calypso’s long hair. “Trust me, I’ve been feeling that way… well, probably since I was 8.”

“When your mom…”

“Yeah,” Leo nodded. “But wanna hear a weird thing? Even though things haven’t exactly been easy for us… Right now I’m feeling more balanced than in a long time.”

“And why is that?” Calypso asked.

“This is gonna sound cheesy as hell but I think it’s because I’ve finally found a home. No, I don’t mean Waystation as a place, although I admit it’s cool as heck and the only place about as safe as Camp Half-Blood. But I mean the people here. You guys make it home.”

Even though Leo didn’t say it aloud, his eyes told Calypso that he wanted to say ‘especially you’. She understood.

“I think… I feel the same way,” she said.

Leo brushed a strand of her hair aside from her face and leaned in to kiss her. The gesture made Calypso happy because so far Leo hadn’t been the one to initiate the more romantic displays of affection, even though she sometimes wished he would. It might have been a bit sloppy, but neither minded, just enjoying the warmth of the kiss. 

After they finally separated, they continued talking for a long time, occasionally bickering, but it cleared the air between them. Calypso wanted to teach Leo to play the guitar (“But what if it makes me too irresistible? You’ll have to drive all the ladies away!” “You have a bit too high expectations on yourself, Leonidas.”). Leo told her about his pupils’ and Georgina’s most recent shenanigans. They also ended up speculating about Apollo’s plans now that he was a god again and reminiscing the times on Ogygia. At some point Leo dug the Valdezinator from his toolbelt and got Calypso to sing along to the music, making both a bit emotional again but in a good way. They fell asleep huddled in each other’s arms on the couch and didn’t even care when Jo and Emmie found them there the next morning, giving them quite a scolding again.


End file.
